Be Mine: A History of Valentine's Day Cards

Greeting cards are now synonymous with Hallmark, but sixty years before that venerable brand was born in 1910, a young woman named Esther Howland popularized commercial Valentine’s Day cards in the United States. As legend has it, soon after graduating from Mount Holyoke College in 1847, in Hadley, Mass., Howland received a fanciful Valentine’s Day card that was produced in England, where such cards were already a bustling business. Inspired, she began hand-making similar cards for friends at her family’s Worcester, Mass., home — a tradition that existed at the time, but not as a commercial venture. Her friends liked the cards so much, Howland hired a group of women to produce them for sale at her father’s stationary and book store. Her cards sold well, bringing in $100,000 a year at their peak.

Today, Hallmark estimates 144 million Valentines are sold industry-wide each year. And while the look has changed slightly — early versions had Biblical or archaic phrases inside such as “I Cling to Thee” — the meaning behind the card is the same, says Robyn Christensen, librarian at the Worcester Historical Museum. “You give somebody a Valentine’s Day card because you care about them,” she says.

Each year, to celebrate their alumnae’s success, Mount Holyoke College displays some of Howland’s original work as part of a collection of about 1,000 historic Valentines. To get in to the holiday spirit, check out a few of our favorites.

Something Borrowed

This 18th century English Valentine was typical of the time and likely similar to the one that first inspired Howland to produce her own cards. Early cards such as these were composed of layers of paper and cloth, covered with gilded and embossed lace paper, as well as romantic, decorative decals.

Something Blue and New

For her one-of-a-kind cards, Howland imported many of her materials from Europe. Although she borrowed the style of her cards from abroad, she is credited with introducing new elements, such as decorative springs, which are small pieces of folded paper that held a top layer above the base to create a 3D look, and colorful paper wafers layered in for pops of color. Howland used navy blue wafers for this busy card from the 1870s, titled “Affection.” The card includes the verse: “You say my heart / my too fond heart / Is cold my dear, to you. / Ah! Canst thou such a thought impart / To one who loves so true?”

Holyoke's History

Howland’s stunning handmade cards such as “Hope and Success” popularized commercial Valentines beginning in the 1850s, but the practice of exchanging the greetings began years earlier, says Jennifer King, an archivist at Mount Holyoke. “Mary Lyon, founder of the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1837, was clear with students about her disapproval of the popular activity of exchanging Valentines,” King says. “But there are references in the collection to students sneaking to mail Valentines to each other.” Around the time Howland was making her first card, Mount Holyoke student Emily Dickinson wrote to her brother that she had not yet received a Valentine while those around her were exchanging them.

More Copycats

Howland’s success soon inspired others to join the Valentine business. In 1866, Worcester stationary shop owner George C. Whitney began producing remarkably similar paper lace cards, such as this one, which reads “A Tribute of Love.” In the 1880s, he bought out 10 card competitors, including Howland’s New England Valentine Company. Around this time, Whitney began to emboss paper and make paper lace domestically, instead of importing it from Europe.

Industrialization Arrives

By 1888, Whitney’s business had spread to offices in New York, Chicago and Boston, and he was one of the most successful producers of Valentines in the United States. The George C. Whitney Company outlived the man, lasting until 1942, three decades after Whitney’s death. But by then, handmade Valentines had given way to machine-printed versions we know today. “The sentiment of the Valentine is the same,” Christensen says. “But what has really changed since Howland is the process.”

Springing to Life

This elaborate nineteenth-century card contains the message “An Offering of” in a heart. Although not produced by Howland, her 3D spring technique is on display.

Early Pop-Ups

This example of a fold-out card resembles today’s pop-up cards and books. This card from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century depicts Cupid rowing a small boat named Heart’s Delight.

Silly Sentiments

As paper became cheaper and cards easier to produce, the quality of Valentines diminished. In this heart-shaped card from the early 1900s, a monkey wearing a dress, shawl, and hat expresses her feelings, to the dismay of a dog.

Sweetest Day

In this large and elaborate printed card from the early 1900s, young sweethearts cuddle in an arbor of sorts, which is decorated with garlands of blue flowers. A fold-out pink paper backing adds an element of whimsy.

Angelic Greetings

Another fold-out card from the 1900s, this Valentine shows two angels in a blue car made of flowers.

A Simplified Message

Mid-century, light-hearted Valentine’s Day postcards became all the rage. This one showing a surprisingly not-cute dog was made either shortly before or during World War II. More than a half-century after this dog made its debut, Valentine’s Day remains the second most popular card-giving holiday, behind only Christmas.

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